By: Lesley Taylor, Director of Operations
When I joined the Office of Cradle-to-Career Data (C2C), leading efforts related to our office move was an important part of my initial portfolio. I was excited to work in a new office, of course. But I also looked forward to flexing my experience as a facilities practitioner. I focused the first part of my career on how K-12 school facilities can improve student outcomes. Across hundreds of schools, I saw how design and operational decisions can impact school climate, attendance, and even a teacher’s ability to differentiate learning for their students. The place, the where, matters tremendously.
The first thing we prioritized in the C2C office move project was user-centered design. We’d need a space large enough to house our public meetings on-site, and flexible enough to be effective for board meetings, community conversations, focus groups, and other formats we haven’t yet imagined. So we shrunk the size of our private offices and put that square footage into the meeting space. Then we named that space the Collaboration Hub, centering this essential C2C value.
We’d also need technology optimized for hybrid public meetings and a hybrid team. Our space features integrated Zoom resources and cutting-edge cameras, audio, and visual displays. In addition to the Collaboration Hub, the C2C office supports a flexible conference room and two Zoom Rooms for hybrid work. This technology ensures we can effectively include off-site partners.
Staff engagement and belonging are supported by seating options for work, nourishment, and recharge with couches, swivel chairs, and variable height tables and chairs in settings that invoke a living room, dining room, and kitchen. We placed our Wellness Room in the front of our suite to be visible and accessible to the public, and equipped it with a dedicated sink, refrigerator, and comfortable furniture. We asked questions about accessibility and inclusion and implemented best practices during construction, like extra actuators on our most-used doors. We thought about the people who would use our space, and we designed for more than their basic needs — we designed for their engagement.
At our first all-staff meeting in our new space, magical was a choice word to describe the feeling of a new place that had been designed by us, for us. Where the daylight streams in through our north-facing windows. Where we can sit — or stand — at our desks or huddle with each other in small and large configurations. Where we can find quiet focus time or engage in creative brainstorming. This is the place where our team is working for Californians to have actionable insights into their data, to advance equitable futures. This place is our home, and we welcome you here.
C2C extends special thanks to the Department of General Services, especially Real Estate Services Division planner Heather Boyd, for helping to make our vision for an inclusive and welcoming space a reality.